


It's a Date

by evrybodysdarlin



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Matchmaking, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-23 10:30:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/925307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evrybodysdarlin/pseuds/evrybodysdarlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the following prompt on pacificrimkink:</p><p>"Tendo hates seeing Herc alone. Especially when he knows the other man has so much love to give. So he decides to try and play matchmaker. Each person he sets Herc up with is perfectly lovely and more than suitable, but nothing ever progresses further than a few dates. If they even get that far in the first place. Tendo just doesn't know what he's doing wrong...</p><p>+ If Herc is only going along with it all because he doesn't want to upset or worry Tendo.<br/>+ If it all eventually gets too much/frustrating and Herc says something like, "None of them compare to you!" or just straight up asks Tendo out instead.<br/>+ Tendo has always been attracted to Herc but never thought he'd return any advances.<br/>+ Herc is straight up in love with Tendo."</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Date

Tendo looked over at Herc. "Why don't you ever sit with anyone else?" he asked.

"What?" Herc had been focused on his meal, scarfing it down quickly between tasks as he so often did.

"I've just noticed that you always sit with me." Tendo got that uncomfortable "foot in mouth" feeling as he tried to explain.

"Do you want me to sit somewhere else?" Herc looked downright surprised, and then glanced down at his plate as though he were thinking of picking it up and moving to another table.

"No!" Tendo reached over and put his hand on Herc's freckled forearm, stopping his motion. "That's not it at all. I like eating meals with you. And drinking with you, and watching movies with you..." Tendo could tell that he was rambling, and tried to get to the point. "I'm just worried about you, man."

"Worried about me?" Herc's reddish eyebrows furrowed. "What for?"

"I don't want to sound insensitive," Tendo hemmed, "and I don't want to seem like I'm getting in your business..."

"Stop fannying about, Tendo. You've earned the right to be in my business. What's the matter?"

"It's been ten years since you...since you lost Angela. I know that it takes a long time to get over something like that--"

"Never. You never get over it," Herc interrupted softly.

"You're right. I know. But I've just been thinking...have you...given up on love?"

Herc stared at him for a moment, then snorted. "'Given up on love'? Is this a chat between two girlfriends now? Should we bake together and start a book club?"

Tendo shoved Herc's shoulder playfully. "Shut up. I'm trying to be serious here. I'm just trying to look out for you. I'm just fucking it up no matter how I say it, OK, but what I was wondering was...do you need a wingman?"

"Huh?" 

That wasn't a very promising sounding noise.

"I've been thinking, isn't it time for you to see if you could meet somebody? You're not an old man yet--"

"Thanks, what a compliment."

"--and you're a good-looking guy," Tendo continued stubbornly. "You could find someone amazing. I could help you out. I mean, what's the point of working so hard to save the world if you're not even enjoying your own life?"

"I enjoy it fine, Tendo. I've got my boy, Striker, my dog, and my friends. I don't need anything else."

"It just feels like you're giving up."

"First of all, don't try to goad me into this by calling me chicken. Second, not all of us can be charmers like you, getting with someone different every night."

Tendo grimaced a little at the words. "You know I'm not like that anymore, man. I've settled down."

"You have, at that. Maybe it's you that we should be worried about. Is there anyone you've got your eye on?"

Tendo felt his face getting hot. "No, not really. Too busy with work." 

"Sure you are," Herc snorted. "Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me."

"Listen," Tendo began. "Will you go out on a date if I set you up with someone? Someone great?"

"Tendo..."

"C'mon, for me? To ease my fears of you becoming an old spinster?"

Herc chuckled reluctantly, looking down at his hands. "OK. If you set me up, fine, I'll go. For you."

Later, as he walked back to LOCCENT alone, Tendo frowned to himself as he thought over their conversation. He had wanted to get Herc to agree to at least try to meet somebody, but now that Herc had conceded, he was feeling miserable about it.

Tendo had been trying to be a good friend. He'd seen what a good guy Herc was--an amazing, guy, really--and had seen how the older man's life had shrunk to include nothing except work, walks with Max, and hanging out with Tendo himself. Even though he loved being around Herc all the time, he had started to worry that Herc's life wasn't as happy as it could be. If anyone deserved love and hot sex, it was Herc.

But now that he was actually faced with the idea of Herc having lots of love and sex with someone, the idea made him a little sick.

Tendo had long ago admitted to himself that he was attracted to Herc. It was kind of awkward to be attracted to your best friend, but there it was. His eyes, his voice, his smile, his amazing body...they all did it for him. But he had also admitted long ago that Herc would never feel the same. Herc was straight, older, emotionally unavailable, clueless...he didn't have a chance.

He had thought that he could get over his little man-crush to be a proper friend and set Herc up, but now he was having second thoughts.

That night, he and Herc had scheduled one of their movie "dates." They would usually watch something stupid and funny and use it as an excuse to drink too much beer and laugh until Chuck put his head out of his bedroom door and told them to shut the fuck up already. 

When Tendo got to the Hansens' quarters, he had prepared himself to just try to forget that he had ever brought up finding a date for Herc.

In the middle of a totally implausible car chase scene, though, Herc leaned over and said "Tendo, listen. You may have been right about what you said earlier."

"What I said earlier?"

"I should try getting out sometime. Meeting someone. I guess I've just been putting it off. If it's important to you, I'll try it."

"OK." Tendo felt the beer slosh around in his stomach queasily. Him and his big mouth. "I'll keep my eye out. There are actually a lot of good-looking women around here if you bother to look."

"You'd know, you dog," Herc teased, taking another swig of his beer.

"What's your type?" Tendo blurted out. 

"Oh, I dunno. I haven't thought about my 'type' in a long time, really. Pretty. Smart enough to carry on a good conversation. Dark hair, probably."

"Got it." Tendo imagined Herc with some smart, sexy brunette and sighed. This was good for him, really. Letting go of false hope.

Annoyingly, Tendo already knew someone who fit Herc's exact description. Cherie, one of the LOCCENT technicians who worked under him, had black hair halfway down her back and had graduated at the top of university class, he remembered. As much as he wanted to be pissed off at her as he imagined her getting with Herc, he had to admit that she was a nice woman. Probably about 35, good head on her shoulders. She was a good prospect.

Since she was his subordinate colleague, though, he didn't want to put any pressure on her. He figured that he had better get Herc to approach her instead.

So the next day, he swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat and urged Herc to invite Cherie to sit with them at lunch. 

Cherie eagerly accepted, and smiled a big, shiny smile at Herc. Who could blame her? Tendo had known that Herc could have his pick of anyone at the Shatterdome if he tried. 

The lunch conversation went pretty smoothly, but Tendo had to bump Herc's knee under the table a few times when he realized that Herc was spending more time talking to Tendo about their movie than he was getting to know Cherie.

As the meal drew to a close and Cherie started gathering up her dishes, Tendo pinched Herc with his thumbnail and whispered "Ask her out, dumbass!"

Herc jumped up out of his seat uncomfortably and blurted out, "Would you like to have dinner sometime?" It came out so rushed and awkward that Tendo had to put his napkin over his mouth to muffle his snort. Herc had clearly been out of the dating game for a while.

"Me?" Cherie said, sounding incredulous.

"Yeah, I mean, if you want to."

"Oh. Of course!" She smiled like she had won the lottery.

Tendo watched them exchange contact info with a mixed feeling of satisfaction and irritation.

` After Cherie walked away, Tendo thumped Herc on the back in what he meant to be an encouraging fashion. "Way to go! Like shooting fish in a barrel, huh?"

Herc rolled his eyes. 

"When are you going to call her? Not too soon, or you'll seem too eager."

"Don't worry about that," Herc mumbled.

"What, you don't like her?"

"She's nice. I'll call her, don't worry. You're a nosy bastard, you know that?"

"That's why you love me," Tendo smirked. 

"That's true." Herc put his arm around Tendo, and Tendo hated the way that his heart sped up a little as he felt the heat and the weight of Herc's muscles resting against him. "Thanks for looking out for me."

"No problem." He hoped that his smile looked normal. It felt like it didn't quite fit his face.

Herc actually followed through with his promise and called Cherie fairly promptly. Tendo passed him on his way out for the date, and saw that Herc had even put on a button-down shirt and something other than fatigue pants.

"Looking good, Hansen!" Tendo called as Herc passed, and Herc gave him a wry smile and a sarcastic salute. Tendo was sure that the date would go well. How could it not? Cherie would have to be an idiot to not like Herc, and Cherie was...well, about as good as anyone could be, even though if he wasn't sure that she was _quite_ good enough for his best friend. Like anyone could be.

The next day at breakfast, Tendo tried to pump Herc for information, but Herc was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"Come on, at least tell me, did you kiss her?" Tendo pressed. He tried to imagine Cherie and Herc kissing outside one of their doors in the Shatterdome hallway, and he tried not to find the image sickening.

"No, I didn't. I'm a fuckin' gentleman, Choi." Herc grinned, and Tendo laughed against his will.

"But was it at least a good date? Do you think that you'll call her again?"

"I dunno, maybe. I forgot how bloody weird dating is." Herc rubbed the back of his neck. "Sitting there with someone you barely know, trying to talk about yourself and make conversation... makes me wonder why it can't just be as easy as sitting here with you."

Tendo's heart sped up. He was so tempted to say something. Something like "Let's call this a date, then" or "It can be just as easy--ask me out instead." The fact that those sentences were even forming in his mind showed just how in over his head he was, but he couldn't help it. He knew that he wouldn't get over this, whatever this weird thing was. He couldn't.

"I've gotta go." He jumped up out of his seat, leaving Herc looking confused. He didn't even stop to clear his dishes. He just headed straight for his room, already resigned that he would be late for work. He couldn't be talking to Herc right now. He would say something stupid. 

His plan failed, however, because Herc followed him.

The heavy knock at his door made him wince, and he was going to ignore it, but then Herc called through the door, "I know you're in there, Choi! Open up." 

Tendo slowly forced himself to get up and push the door open. "Herc, I'm not feeling so great. I just want to rest."

"Did I piss you off?" Herc asked baldly.

"No. No, not at all."

"Tendo," Herc sighed. "Why are you so set on fixing me up on a date all of a sudden?"

"I want you to be happy." _Even if it's not with me._

"I am happy. That's what I was trying to tell you. I'm happy when I'm _with you_."

"Wh-what?"

"I know that I may have fucked things up. It seemed like you ran away because of what I said. I didn't mean to freak you out, or fuck up our friendship, but I... Tendo, I'm not going to like anyone you set me up on a date with, because they aren't you." 

Herc was staring at his feet, and Tendo didn't think that he'd ever see Herc Hansen look shy before. "I know that it's weird, but I've been feeling...I want to be with you. I know that you probably don't feel the same way."

Tendo threw himself into Herc's arms so fast that he knocked them both back against the wall. His arms were around Herc's neck, resting on his big shoulders, and Tendo kissed him before he could think twice. 

_This is what I've been looking for,_ Tendo thought as Herc kissed him back. _All those girls and boys... I was just looking for this._ He'd never had just a kiss set his whole body on fire before, goosebumps and chills and getting turned on just from the feeling of someone's lips on his and their warm, firm hands on his waist.

"I thought you were straight," Tendo gasped as the kiss finally ended. "I thought that you wouldn't ever like me. I tried to get over it."

"I'm glad that you didn't get over it." Herc ran his hand down Tendo's spine, and Tendo shivered. "You're kind of an idiot, you know? Who else would there be except you? I've only spent every free moment of my day with you for months."

"I thought we were just friends." Tendo leaned up for another kiss, greedy, and Herc happily complied.

"I don't like any of my friends quite that much." Herc nuzzled under Tendo's ear and lowered his voice. "I have to admit, I'm partly telling you this because Chuck got sick of seeing your face all the time when we Drifted. He said that if I didn't tell you how I felt soon, he would track you down and tell you himself."

Tendo laughed. "That would have been a little less romantic than this. Less making out."

"Mmm." Herc stole one more kiss. "I think we're going to be paying even less attention to the movie than usual next time we have a movie night."

"Movie date," Tendo whispered. "Let's call it a date."


End file.
